Birthday
by Sakura Mau Toki
Summary: It still felt like any other day; a day of battling, training and planning followed by relaxation with his Pokemon and Karen. However, one glance at the calendar on the wall told him that today was indeed that day.


**A/N: This is just a little one-shot I wrote for a prompt on Tumblr.** **Thanks goes out to Time for beta'ing this little piece, as well as Ghostie for giving me the prompt. You guys are awesome~**

**As always, concrit is welcomed and I hope you enjoy this little piece.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters, places, etc. All credit goes to Gamefreak, Nintendo, the Pokémon company, etc.**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings/Characters: Lance/Will, Karen/Sidney, Iris and Clair.**

**Warnings: None.**

* * *

><p>He hadn't expected it to approach so quickly. It still felt like any other day; a day of battling, training and planning followed by relaxation with his Pokemon and Karen. However, one glance at the calendar on the wall told him that today was indeed that day.<p>

Lance's birthday.

Normally Will would get him a gag gift, much to the amusement of others and mild irritation of the Champion. However, this trick seemed to be waning and, due to recent events, wouldn't be a suitable gift this year.

No, he would have to get him an actual, serious gift. The only problem was: what to get him? A cape would be a rather obvious gift; too obvious for Will's tastes. Likewise a simple gift card wouldn't do, either. Will preferred to get the perfect gifts for those he cared about; gifts that had that personal touch to them that others could pick up on right away. Those were the gifts that mattered to him.

Of course, Lance was a hard one to buy for; there were very few things he was interested in and, should you try to cater to them, you would only find out that he already possessed everything. The newest cape? Got it weeks in advance. Music? Got it a few days prior. Newest Dragon-types?

…Newest dragon types. That was the one thing Lance didn't have. While Lance made it a habit to be well- informed of any new species of Dragon Pokémon that were discovered, he could barely find the time to leave the League (or the region for that matter), let alone go on a hunt for some obscure Pokémon simply for the sake of adding it to his collection.

It looked like it was time for a little trip.

—-

By the time he'd sought out his prize, the party was well underway. Karen, Koga and Bruno had been working hard all day to prepare; Lorelei and Agatha stopped in to help as well. By the time the last of the guests arrived, Will was just heading through the front doors of the League. His current attire was in disarray; hair unkempt, shirt wrinkled as his front collar was askew and his mask lopsided. This would simply not do, especially not for a Champion's retinue.

Unbeknownst to Will, Karen had spotted him from the corner of her eye; a knowing smirk on her lips as she watched her friend rush about to get ready. She also noticed the Pokéball in her hand, but chose to say nothing as her lover and fellow dark type specialist appeared at her side.

"Anything wrong?" Sidney asked, Karen waving his concern away with a friendly smile.

"Nothing~ Just wanted some air." With that she led him off, making sure that Will could get in unnoticed.

Minutes later, Will slipped into the main room; a tiny, neatly wrapped box draped in gold and red secured in his hands as he made his way over to Lance. Much to his surprise and luck, he found Lance off to the side; alone and sipping upon a glass of wine as he watched his cousin tell off a young girl from Unova. Apparently the two had gotten into a debate about dragons in which things were said that had set Clair off. Will pitied the poor girl, but it looked like she had things under control.

All mundane thoughts aside, Will slipped into place next to Lance. "Enjoying the party thus far?" he commented, hiding a smirk as the Champion jolted in surprise.

"Do you have to do that?" he asked irritably as Will gave him an innocent smile.

"Of course. Otherwise it would be no fun," he chimed, which only deepened the frown on Lance's features.

Lance growled. "Figured as much. What took you so long, anyway?"

"Ah, I was out getting your gift," Will replied, holding out the neatly wrapped box which quickly caught Lance's gaze. The frown on his face softened, his irritability replaced by curiosity mingled with slight disbelief.

"You didn't have to, you know," he murmured embarrassedly, examining the gift for a moment before gently pulling off the wrapping paper.

"But I wanted to," Will said with unusual gravity.

All was silent for a few moments; Lance opening the box as Will looked on, trying to hide a grin as Lance took out a small Pokéball. With a flash, a small Axew appeared at his feet, staring up at Lance with wide eyes as the reflection was easily mirrored in Lance's own.

"Will…how did you..?" He looked at Will in surprise, the Psychic giving him a mischievous smile.

"It's a secret," he replied, placing a finger to his lips as the Champion scooped the tiny dragon into his arms. "Happy birthday."

With that, Will made to head over to Karen, inwardly glad that Lance was happy with his gift. It had taken a while to find the little guy, but in the end it was worth it. He didn't, however, expect a sudden grip on his wrist which was followed by him swiftly being turned around as a pair of lips met his. Eyes widening behind his mask, Will glanced upwards to see Lance rather close, his lips locked against Will's own for the briefest of moments before he pulled away.

"Thank you," Lance murmured, showing a rare smile that was just enough to get the psychic to blush.

"You're welcome…" Lance then pulled away, going back to his normal self as if the moment didn't happen at all. Of course, the both of them knew it had, and, if his predictions were right, there would be many more to come.

**Fin.**


End file.
